Blastosphere: Digital Art Becomes 3D Fashion

Tomorrow is the opening reception for Blastosphere: Digital Art Becomes 3D Fashion, a month-long exhibition at The Gallery at Ace Hotel New York, and culmination of a collaboration between members of the NEW INC community. Blastosphere features the work of three artists – Alexandra Gorczynski, Miles Peyton, and Tara Sinn – and sees each piece go through a multifaceted transformation that unites the unique features and capabilities of the three NEW INC teams: NewHive, Print All Over Me, and REIFY. The Blastosphere collection will be available for purchase at the New Museum store.

Lindsay Howard, Curatorial Director at NewHive, tells us more about the collaboration below:

How did the collaboration between NewHive, REIFY and Print All Over Me come about? Whose idea was it?

We've been admiring each other's work throughout the year and this felt like an opportunity to highlight some of our favorite aspects of our companies, including NewHive's artist commission program, Print All Over Me's fabrics and silhouettes, and REIFY's augmented reality technology. We started by looking through the online projects on NewHive and selected three works that we thought would translate well to a physical garment. The artists – Alexandra Gorczynski, Miles Peyton, and Tara Sinn – worked closely with REIFY's technologists to adapt their animations, videos, and music, into augmented reality. The result is a 3D wearable internet that blurs the lines between art, virtual reality and the tangible world.

How would you describe this project? What do you call these objects?

The artists were actively involved in all aspects of the project, from creating the initial online works, to selecting silhouettes, and designing the in-app augmented reality experience. We consider the garments to be wearable digital artworks.

Why did this idea excite you guys? What themes and questions did you want to explore?

I named the exhibition Blastosphere because this whole process made us think about the incredible mutability of digital art. Once you create a digital file, it can be a work in itself or a starting point for any number of creative iterations.

How will these elements come to life at the exhibition opening at Ace Hotel?

Visitors attending the exhibition opening at the Ace Hotel on September 3 will be able to try on the garments as well as experiment with REIFY’s augmented reality technology. A satellite event will take place later in the month at the New Museum Store, where the garments will be available for sale through the rest of the year.